


The Nightmare Monsters of Rajahad

by whoviangoesthere



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-25
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-10 07:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2016471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoviangoesthere/pseuds/whoviangoesthere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While the Doctor continues to take Amy on her post-Rory tour, they land on a small planet where laws mean everything.  But after a chance encounter with a young girl, they discover something sinister lurking within the world.  The Doctor and his friends must fight for what is right - but that's not always that easy to figure out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Nightmare Monsters of Rajahad

“Welcome to Rajahad!” the Doctor announced, stepping out of the TARDIS with Amy close behind. He spun in a circle, extending his arms at the expansive city around him.

“Looks like any old city you’d find in Morocco to me.” Amy said, her Scottish accent highlighting her boredom. “You sure we can’t stop by that ice planet you mentioned before?”

The Doctor strode up to her, smiling. “No, of course not Amy, because Rajahad is not just ‘any old city’. It’s famous!” He gestured for Amy to follow him and began to disappear into the crowd. Amy rolled her eyes and followed him.

“Do you know why, Amelia?” the Doctor said, picking up and examining trinkets from different vendors they passed. “It’s famous for its justice system. Its laws!” His shouts echoed against the buildings around them. Bridges spanned the rooftops, stretching across the alleyways as far as the eye could see. The Doctor turned, stopping Amy suddenly in her tracks. “You see, Amy, all cities have laws. Rules. The guiding light to avoid bad things like thievery or murder.” Amy raised her eyebrows. “But Rajahad…Think of the smallest planet you know of, Amy, smaller than…oh what’s that tiny chunk of rock in your solar system…ah! Pluto! Think of Pluto, but tinier. So tiny only three cities could fit on it. You are standing on a planet like that, atmosphere, sky, stars, sun, everything similar to Earth. But! Rajahad is the only living place on the surface, everywhere else uninhabited! Makes for a crowded city. Many thieves, many murderers, and many of those nasty people who bug you to see identification.”

“You mean the policemen?” Amy asked with a smile.

“Yes, yes, many of those. All need to be brought to justice! But with so many, how to do it? That’s where the beauty of Rajahad takes its form! Not moments after a thief steals something his traces are traced right back to where he is. He’s given his punishment. An eye for an eye. Fitting the crime. Quick to trace it, quick to catch it, and quick to punish it. No pesky troublemakers!”

Amy laughed. “No dratted policemen, then, eh Doctor?”

“No anything! People live in peace, free from the fear of trouble. Sans the nasty smell, it’s a beautiful place to live!”

Amy grabbed the Doctor’s hand and began to pull him through the streets. “Come on then, Doctor! Show me the sights!”

\---------------

_Three weeks earlier_

“Why did you have to do it, Ahâd?”

“We don’t have enough money to pay for food, let alone the apartments. Thievery isn’t very bad, J’hândra, don’t worry. They’ll send me to work for a shop owner and I’ll be back in two weeks. I promise.”

J’hândra looked up at her brother with concern. The soldiers on either side of him shifted their feet with impatience.

“Ma’am, we must leave now.” the one on the right spoke with forced politeness.

“Yes, well.” J’hândra kissed her brother’s forehead. “Come back safe, alright?”

“I promise.” Ahâd said with a smile. “I’ll be back.”

As he was being led away, Ahâd looked back at his sister. She stood outside the apartment building, fingering the necklace he had made for her when she was little. J’hândra would be alright. She was fourteen years old, old enough to take care of herself. As for the apartments…surely they would extend the payment due date for two weeks. She certainly couldn’t pay it off herself.

The guards stopped. They were outside a small building that everyone could miss but no one forgot where it was. One guard held open the door and Ahâd stepped inside. The guards whispered luck to him, closed the door and locked it, and went on their way.

Ahâd stepped forward nervously into the dark.

“Hello?” he called.

An old man appeared out of the gloom.

“Crime?” he croaked.

“Thievery, sir.” Ahâd mumbled, kicking the dirt floor in shame.

The man looked at him with a strange expression. Sympathetic…but scared.

“I’m sorry.” the man whispered, and suddenly the floor wasn’t there anymore. Ahâd was falling down, down, and finally he hit something soft. Something sharp pierced his wrist, and the last thing he saw was a figure looming over him, giant teeth glistening in non-existent light.

\-----------------------

_Three weeks later_

“I have to say, Doctor, I am impressed.” Amy called. She was looking at a stained glass made using sand and desert flowers.

“Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t it absolutely thrilling?” the Doctor was preoccupied by a booth selling exotic food, dishes made with pine needles and the juices of cacti.

“Is that all there is out there? Just desert?”

“Oh no, no, no, the desert stops just a few miles out. The people here aren’t keen to travel, that’s all.”

“Well, Doctor, any more wonders you can show me? Because I am getting hot and that ice planet is sounding pretty good right—“

Amy’s comment was cut off by the sudden appearance of a young girl, bursting through the crowd and running away from a broad-shouldered man. The girl skidded to a halt in the middle of the alley and turned a full circle, trying to find an exit. The man made a grab for her but she dodged and began to run again.

“Doctor, should we help?” Amy asked.

“Hold on, make sure we’re needed.”

“When, Doctor?” Amy said, exasperated.

“Now!” the Doctor shouted, just as the man had managed to grab the girl’s arm. He had pulled out a knife and looked like he was about to stab the girl with it.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the knife. It clattered to the ground and the Doctor kicked it away before the man could pick it up again.

“Alright, now tell me what this is about, a man like you trying to kill a young girl like her. Someone could get hurt with that thing.” he motioned to the knife, now being picked up by Amy and stored safely away.

“Well, look who’s new in town!” the man growled. “This girl here refuses to pay her rent on her apartment. Those who can’t pay are locked away, now if you’ll excuse me!”

The man started to drag the girl back into the crowd but Amy stopped him.

“Oi, mister, rent or not, you’re not going anywhere with that girl.” she said, her arms crossed.

The girl struggled but the man held tight. The Doctor still had his sonic out but seemed unwilling to use it. Suddenly two armored guards ran into the square. The people milling about made wide berth for the newcomers.

“Rule-breaker, Sar’jâd?” one of the guards asked the man.

As Sar’jâd replied, the Doctor leaned over to Amy.

“Amy, those guards are highly trained. Once they have the girl, we don’t stand a chance of breaking her free, understand?”

Amy nodded. “On three then?”

The Doctor smiled. “One. Two.”

“Three!” Amy shouted, and together they charged Sar’jâd. Taken by surprise, he loosened his grip on the girl, and Amy was able to grab her hand before all three disappeared into the crowd.

“Follow me!” the girl cried. “I know a way out of the city!”

She led Amy and the Doctor through the narrow streets, guards in high pursuit behind them. After several twists and turns they plunged into a hole in the ground: a trapdoor leading into a tunnel. They ran along it for a while, breathing heavily, until they reached the end. A ladder led up into a small hut lit by a dying fire.

“Well,” the Doctor panted. “That was fun!”

Amy rolled her eyes and checked on the girl.

“Are you alright?” Amy asked.

“A little bruised up, but I’ll be fine. Thank you for helping me.”

The Doctor got up and peeked outside.

“Ingenious. A long tunnel hidden beneath a bustling city, leading to an inconspicuous hut almost a mile from the city walls.” He tapped the wall. “Solid sandstone, with touches of iron and…” he flaked off a piece and tasted it. “Diamond. Strong on the inside, dilapidated on the outside. Who made this, I wonder?”

“I did.” the girl said. “At least, my brother and I. He wanted to be an architect of great buildings one day. Be part of keeping the city.”

The Doctor continued to circle around the room, examining small invisible parts of the structure. Amy turned to the girl.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“J’hândra. You have a strange accent. And I can tell by your dress you are not from around here. Who are you people?”

Amy held out her hand and J’hândra shook it. “I’m Amy Pond, J’hândra. And this is the—“

“I’m the Doctor, hello.” the Doctor shook J’hândra’s hand vigorously. “Glad to see you’re alright.”

“Yes, I’m fine.” J’hândra eyed the Doctor’s clothes quizzically. “What is that you’re wearing on your neck?”

The Doctor looked upset. “It’s a bowtie.” he said, straightening it. “Bowties are cool.”

Behind him, Amy laughed. J’hândra managed a smile.

“You mentioned a brother.” the Doctor said, ignoring the silent criticism of his bowtie. “Is he back in the city? Should we get him, now that we’ve escaped the law? Funny, you shouldn’t be able to escape the law in Rajahad. It has a flawless law system, I did mention that, didn’t I Amy?”

J’hândra smiled once again but her face became saddened just as quickly.

“I don’t know where my brother is, sir. You heard what I was in for. My brother, he tried to steal some money. He was only doing it ‘cause he had to pay the rent, honest, but of course they caught him. They took him away, but I thought he’d only be gone two weeks at most. That’s what he promised me.”

“And how long has it been?” the Doctor asked, now examining the ceiling with his sonic.

“Three weeks, sir. He would have at least written something to me if he had to stay longer. I know him. He wouldn’t just…leave.”

“No phone calls from dear brother, eh?” Amy asked sympathetically.

“Don’t talk that way, not even here.” J’hândra’s tone was forced.

Amy looked questionably at the Doctor. He stepped in quickly.

“No new technology, Amy, number one rule. Helps keep life fresh. Tasteful.”

“Says the man with a sonic screwdriver in his pocket.” Amy pointed out.

The Doctor pulled it out, looking hurt. “Gallifrey technology. Completely different.”

“Gallifrey?” J’hândra said, awed. “You aren’t who I think you are? I mean, I’ve heard stories…” she trailed off, staring at the Doctor in wonder. “If you’re really…maybe you could help me get my brother back. You could help me figure out what happened to him.”

Amy looked up at the Doctor expectantly. He smiled, placing his sonic back into his pocket.

“Of course, J’hândra. Now we just need to get back into the city. The trouble is, we are fugitives now…”

“The guards will be looking for us.” J’hândra agreed. “But don’t worry. It’s not the city we need to explore. It’s just one building. We can go as soon as we’d like, if you want. It’s almost night time. Best time for sneaking around.”

Something about J’hândra’s matter-of-fact tone made Amy think this wasn’t J’hândra’s first run-in with illegality. The girl pushed herself to her feet and motioned towards the ladder leading back into the tunnel.

“Are you coming, then?” she asked, already climbing down the ladder.

The Doctor began to follow suit when Amy called over to him.

“Only when children are crying, eh Doctor?”

The Doctor winked.

“Precisely.”

\------------------------

They managed to blend into the crowd fairly well, but only after J’hândra stole some clothes off of a clothesline for the Doctor and Amy to wear.

“Face it, Doctor, your bowtie will get us all caught.” said Amy, trying not to laugh as the Doctor reluctantly pulled off his bowtie and slipped into a loose top. Amy pulled on a flowing gold-trimmed dress and pulled back her hair.

J’hândra looked at the two of them and cringed.

“Well, at least you don’t look like a Time Lord and his companion anymore.” she said, trying to be optimistic. “The building we want is down the road. We’ll need to take some shortcuts through the alleyways to avoid the streets.”

They stayed together as a group for the next few minutes. They kept to the alleys, heads down, avoiding eye contact with strangers. They blended with the crowds if they had to. Finally they had reached a small non-descript building. Everyone around it seemed to be avoiding it, as if it gave off a bad stench.

“This is the judgment building.” J’hândra said, staring at it with traces of fear in her eyes. “It used to be famous for its contribution it gave to the community. Now?” she motioned to all the people milling around the building, trying their best not to glance at the single door in the center.

“Should we go in?” Amy asked the Doctor.

“It’s a mysterious building standing in a not so mysterious street. Everyone avoids it and it has become an infamous landmark.”

“So we go in?” Amy asked again, knowing the Doctor’s answer.

“Of course we do, Amy. We have to find J’hândra’s brother.”

They stepped towards the single door looming in front of them. They looked both ways to make sure no one was looking, and then the Doctor pulled out his sonic and picked the lock in one second. The door creaked open.

They stepped into darkness. The door slammed shut behind them, and all of a sudden, despite the city all around them, it was very, very quiet.

A man stepped out of the gloom, surprising the trio. He uttered one word, his voice aged and torn from overuse:

“Crime?”

Amy and the Doctor stayed silent for a second, trying to imagine one, but J’hândra took things into reality.

“I wasn’t able to pay my rent, sir.”

The doctor stepped forward, trying to get a better look at the man. He didn’t move, only stood there, hunched over, when he spoke once more.

“I’m sorry.”

“Who are you?” the Doctor asked. “You’re certainly not any old human be—“

But whatever the Doctor had to say was cut off when suddenly he felt himself falling. Beside him, he heard his companions scream - the floor had disappeared beneath them and now they were falling into darkness.

Suddenly, the trio landed with a _whumph_ on something soft. J’hândra was lying motionless, her face pale with fear and her eyes shut tight. Amy was scrambling to stand up but it was like standing up in a boat: the floor kept moving beneath her. The Doctor had his sonic out, sweeping it around the room, trying to keep his balance.

“I think we are standing on a semi-cushioned air pocket. Think a water bed, but unable to pop, and with air, not water. This can’t be here, this isn’t something Rajahad would have, it’s…”

Three tall figures suddenly appeared from the area around the trio. They descended on them slowly. Amy and the Doctor couldn’t see their faces but they could see their teeth. Long and sharp, they glistened in a spooky imaginary light.

“Not of this world.” a deep voice hissed. The creatures encircling them were talking. “No, we are most certainly not of this world.”

A creature fell upon the unconscious J’hândra. It took her wrist and pressed something into it with a long slick finger. J’hândra gasped in her sleep. Another creature headed for Amy. The Doctor stepped in front of her, his sonic held high. For all it was worth, however, he could not get the light to fall upon anything other than the creature’s mouths, and their horrible long fangs were the last thing Amy wanted to see at the moment.

Amy gasped as a piercing sensation filled her arm. A fourth creature had snuck up behind her and pricked her wrist.

“Doctor…” she whispered, and fell to the ground like a stone.

“Amy!” the Doctor yelled. He kept his sonic raised, not daring to turn his back. He was surrounded.

“Who are you?” he called out to the creatures. “Why won’t you show your faces?”

The things came closer. One reached out a hand and grabbed the Doctor’s wrist.

“Don’t even think about it. Your poison may work on humans, but not on me. Now tell me who you are!”

The Doctor ignored the prick in his arm. The creatures around him began to hiss excitedly.

“Oh, we know exactly who you are, Doctor.” the deep voice echoed again. “That’s why we changed our poison. We are much smarter than you give us credit for. We take insult at your degradation of us.”

The Doctor blinked several times. The room around him was going fuzzy.

“Sleep now, Doctor. And don’t forget: we have been waiting for you for months now. When we heard you were here…we will feast well tonight. We have heard Time Lord tastes wonderful. Sweet dreams.”

The Doctor fought to make sense of what the creatures were saying, but his thoughts were becoming blurred. He blinked hard, but it was becoming harder and harder to stay awake. He stumbled forward, only to land on his knees near Amy’s sleeping body.

“You…feeding off…Rajahad…who…?”

But this was all the Doctor managed before the darkness around his eyes seeped in, and he sank into blackness.

\----------------

The Doctor woke with a start. In a few seconds he came to the conclusion that he was not about to regenerate, therefore his mind began to think why.

_They have teeth that they show off viciously, yet they don’t devour their victims. At least, not instantaneously. Unless they keep their meals, which is unlikely. With teeth like that, they would want it fresh. So why show off your greatest weapon if you don’t use it? Unless…_

The Doctor half-expected Amy to say: “Unless what?” But he was alone in the dark, held down by nothing but the knowledge of what lived beyond the small circle of light that seemed to come from nowhere.

_Unless these creatures don’t eat their victims at all. They don’t even use the teeth. They show it off to get a reaction and…_

And what? They scared their victims with fangs and words, but to what point?

Suddenly all the Doctor wanted was to venture into the darkness and take on the creatures, asking them the questions that nagged him the most. But he knew that throwing himself to the sharks wouldn’t help Amy or J’hândra. He would have to wait.

 _Patience isn’t a strong suit of mine_ he thought morosely. He began pacing.

\-----------------

When Amy came to, she could see J’hândra lying a few feet away. She ran over to her and tried to wake her up.

“She tasted wonderful.” a voice behind Amy cackled. “Youths are always a treat.”

Amy whirled around, expecting a horrible creature with fangs, but nothing came into her sight. She looked up to where there should have been a light source, but nothing was there. Around her light stretched out three feet, where it then stopped and dropped into darkness.

“What will you taste like, Amelia Pond?” the voice asked. “Sweet like the girl? Or salt-like, as her brother was?”

Amy could swear she heard the voice licking its lips.

“What did you do to her?” she whispered. She checked over J’hândra’s body but found no marks. Other than her deathly pallor, she seemed unscathed.

“What will you taste like?” the voice asked again. This time more than one thing was talking.

“Doctor?” Amy called out, trying to protect J’hândra’s body from the darkness around her.

Dark figures emerged, surrounding her. Long teeth flashed in the light.

“Doctor!”

\----------------

The Doctor heard Amy’s shout mid-pace. He almost fell over in surprise because it was coming from somewhere very nearby.

“Amelia?” he called.

“Doctor, where are you? They’re everywhere, help me!”

Amy’s voice was even closer now. The Doctor looked helplessly at the dark around him.

“Amelia, don’t move! They won’t harm you, I’ve figured that out!”

“What?! They have _teeth_ and they’re asking me what I taste like!”

The Doctor turned towards the sound of Amy’s voice. It seemed as if she was four feet in front of him, but there was nothing but darkness.

“Doctor, I’m with J’hândra! She’s out cold. They’re saying she tasted nice but there’s not a mark on her. What do you figure?”

Still no sign of Amy, but the creatures hadn’t attacked her yet. If he could just keep her talking…

“I told you, Amelia, these things don’t eat their victims.” he called out, taking a step towards the darkness in front of him. “I don’t know what they did to her, but they didn’t hurt her as far as I know.”

“She’s pale as a sheet and not responding to me! How can you say they didn’t hurt her?”

The Doctor had reached the edge of darkness beyond the light around him. He braced himself and stepped out of the light.

\--------------

“Don’t you dare.” Amy said to a creature trying to approach her. “If the Doctor says you won’t eat us, then you won’t eat us.”

“Amelia? Say something else; I’m in the dark here, literally.”

“Doctor, I’m right here. These things aren’t doing anything.”

The creatures’ teeth had vanished but their dark forms still remained, cast into shadow by the light around them.

“What—“

The Doctor had appeared out of nowhere, slipping into the circle of light as easily as the creatures around Amy had done.

“There’s my sonic!” The Doctor exclaimed, snatching it from the hands of one of the things. He pointed it at the invisible source of light above.

“Perception filter.” he commented, almost boringly. “I thought so. Though this is a new way of using it that I’ve seen.”

“Doctor?” Amy encouraged, still keeping a wary eye on the now almost-invisible creatures in front of them.

“Oh, incredibly simple, really. Messes with your mind to make you think you’re looking at something some other way. This whole cavern is full of the little things, attached to the ceiling everywhere. Programmed to give us a three-foot radius of light in our minds even though nothing is really there. So you were really four feet in front of me I just didn’t see you. Ingenious…”

The creatures around them hissed. “You’ve figured out our way of entrapping you and seen through our disguise. But what say you, Doctor, to how we will feast on you?”

“Feast? No, no, no, you have been lying to everyone who has been brought down here. The poor souls, you probably didn’t give them any light. Probably mad as a hatter the more they’re down here. Speaking of which, J’hândra here has informed me you have taken her brother. Where is he?”

The creatures laughed cruelly and knowingly.

“Oh, but Doctor.” the voice chided, ignoring his latest question. “If only you knew how truthful we have been.”

“You don’t eat your victims, unlike what you have said before. You are a harmless race who has taken fun in playing with the sanity of a few chase subjects who happen to be sent down here. So, I’ll ask again, where is J’hândra’s brother?”

“If only you knew how wrong you were, Doctor. You might be able to save yourself.” The creatures pushed closer, completely surrounding the group. “We do eat our victims. And we are most certainly _not_ a harmless race.”

“You don’t eat human flesh. How else could you not eat your victims? J’hândra is perfectly unscathed.”

“Flesh?” the creatures laughed once again, closing in and blocking out all light. “No, Doctor. We do not partake in the supposed delicacies of human meat, nor do we drink their blood like some stories we have heard in the city above. We aren’t cannibals, Doctor. We desire a much better treat, something luxuriously sweet, something we have been waiting for for months on end. We feast upon fear, Doctor, and we know that your fear will be very delicious indeed.”

\---------------------

“Doctor, what are they on about?”

“Amy, I want you to stay very calm. Do not panic.”

“Are they…are you…”

“Amy,” the Doctor said and turned towards her, grasping her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. “Don’t panic. They feed off of fear.”

“What are they? What did they do to J’hândra?”

“I don’t know.”

“How could you not, you know everything. Let go of me!”

Amy was getting increasingly scared. She struggled against the Doctor’s grip.

“Amelia, please, don’t let them overtake you. They will not hurt you so long as you stay—“

The light around them suddenly disappeared. They were plunged into complete darkness.

“Where are they?” Amy whispered.

The creatures had vanished into the gloom. The Doctor could see nothing; he could only feel J’hândra’s limp body at his feet. He reached out and managed to grab Amy’s hand. She grasped it tightly. Her fingers trembled.

“They’re still here, Amy. They’re waiting.”

“Use your sonic. Give some light, any light. It’s too dark.”

“It won’t work, Amelia. They’ve tapped into the perception filters. They are making us see darkness now, even if there was light.”

Amy’s hand shook even more.

“Doctor.” she whispered. “Don’t let go.”

Her voice was almost inaudible, and the Doctor knew that, even if Amy might not be panicking, she was terrified beyond belief.

“Doctor, something just touched my hand.” Amy’s breathing was becoming irregular. “It’s got my wrist. Get off. _Get off_.”

The Doctor noticed J’hândra’s dead weight had disappeared. The creatures had taken her body.

“Amelia?”

“ _Help me_.” Amy said in a voice barely more than a whisper.

Suddenly Amy’s hand dropped from the Doctor’s.

“Amy!”

_They feed off of fear. They made J’hândra terrified, fed off of her. They knocked us out, separated us. They feed off fear…but how? And why here?_

“Amelia, if you can hear me, answer me _now_.”

“Amy, they will not hurt you, they’re just trying to scare you!”

The Doctor heard a small sound from in front of him.

“Doctor? Where are you? Please…”

“Amy, I’m right here. Just walk towards me, we’ll find each other. _Stay calm.”_

Then he heard another sound. Sniffling. Small gasps.

“Doctor, you’ve gone…where are you? Please, Doctor…”

Amy was crying.

“Amelia…”

He knew it was hopeless. She couldn’t hear him. She was alone, in the dark, she couldn’t hear him, and she was terrified. And creatures surrounded them. Creatures that fed off of fear.

“I don’t know who you are.” the Doctor announced to the darkness. “And I don’t know why you chose here, of all places. But you have my friend. You nearly killed the other one. I want both of them back.”

Cold laughter echoed around him. Amy’s crying increased, her voice reduced to whimpering.

“Back? No, Doctor…we will feast on you first…”

“Doctor, please…” Amy whispered. “Please, don’t leave….I’m scared. It’s dark….so dark…”

“Let her go.” the Doctor knew he had to keep calm but he couldn’t stand to hear Amy like this, not when she could be feet away. “I’ll do what you say, just _let her go!_ ”

Her crying was becoming quieter. Anything could be happening.

“Please. Let her go. She’s done nothing wrong.”

_So this is how they will surface my fear. Through friends of my own._

And indeed, the Doctor was becoming afraid, but not for himself. For Amy.

“If I give in.” he called out. “If I give in, will you let her go? Her and the girl and her brother, will you let them all go if you could have your feast?”

The voices around him licked their lips.

“A fresh Time Lord’s fear. No struggle. We like this idea.”

“Doctor? I can’t…I can’t….please….”

Amy’s pleas were desperate. Whatever the creatures were doing to her they were almost done. Then she’d be left like poor J’hândra. Pulled away into the gloom and…

“J’hândra. Her brother. Amy. All go free. You right them so they can walk, give them back whatever you took. You stop feeding off of the condemned in the city.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Doctor. What if we refuse?”

“Doctor….” Amy whispered. The Doctor heard a thud as she hit the floor, unconscious.

“Then I guess you’ll have to keep struggling then, in hopes you will eventually engulf my fear. You’ve waited several months. What’s another year to you?”

The creatures growled.

“Don’t push your luck, Doctor. We look forward to this meal. Your deal is done.”

Something pulled on the Doctor’s wrist and a sharp pain shot up his arm. He hissed and tried to move away, but he was rooted to the spot. Around him, circles of light blinked on and off, the furthest he could see stretching miles back. As each light came on, he glimpsed limp forms lying on the ground. The lights got closer and as they reached him he saw a flash of red hair. That light stayed on and Amy stirred from sleep.

“Doctor?” she asked groggily, then shot to her feet as she realized where she was. “What have you done?” she asked.

Behind Amy, J’hândra had gotten to her feet as well, the light freezing around her. In the distance, another figure rose up, rubbing his eyes.

“Ahâd!” J’hândra cried, and her brother turned to her in shock. He ran towards J’hândra, took her hand, and kept running, past the Doctor. Amy looked behind him and the Doctor followed her gaze. A light had flickered on, shining above a ladder that led up and out of this wretched place. The Doctor caught Amy’s eye.

“Go on, Amy. Go!” he shouted, gesturing with his head, but Amy stayed put. A ripple of pain stabbed through the Doctor’s arm, this time traveling through his shoulder and hitting one of his hearts. He cried out and fell to his knees, trying desperately to stand.

“I’m not leaving you like this!” Amy shouted. The Doctor looked up at her stubborn face.

“I have a plan, Amelia.” he said, though what was forming in his mind now could hardly bother to be counted as a plan. “Go!”

“What is it?”

Another bout of pain raked through the Doctor’s whole body, sending him crashing to the ground. “Is this really the time for questions?” he snapped, trying to rise off of the floor.

Amy looked back towards the ladder, where Ahâd had already started to climb. “We are _not_ leaving without you!”

“Amelia!” The Doctor looked up, and he and Amy locked eyes. “Trust me. I’m the Doctor.”

With one small smile, Amy ran to the ladder, helped J’hândra climb up, and then vanished herself, leaving the Doctor alone in the dark.

“You will taste wonderful, Doctor. But first you must submit yourself easily to the process. That _was_ our deal, wasn’t it?”

The Doctor was growing tired, his eyes drooping, the pain in his body increasing to the point where sleep seemed like such a better option, one free of this agony…

He shook his head. Pain was always the better option to giving up.

“You made a mistake, you know.” the Doctor groaned. He fell onto his back, gritting his teeth against the stinging wisps that were edging down his back.

“Oh?” the creatures around him asked. “We made no mistake. You are now giving us your fear.”

“See, there’s your problem!” the Doctor gasped, smiling as the wisps worked their way into one of his hearts. “You got my friends to safety, I’m no longer afraid!”

A sudden spasm sent him curling up, but his mind was racing. If this worked…

“We are feeding off of something, Doctor. You cannot fool us.”

“Yes, well, that’s me, isn’t it, always confusing the ones who are too thick to understand it.” He managed to push himself up a bit more. “That’s not fear you’re feeding on – it’s hope. Similar feelings, don’t blame yourself for the mistake, but guess what?”

The pain was residing now. The Doctor pushed himself up gracefully, stumbling slightly as his body recovered.

“Your meal might be slightly delayed.”

“We are stronger than you think, Doctor. We will feed off of the fear of every living thing in the city above.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong.” the Doctor said, limping quickly to the ladder. He grabbed the rungs and turned back to the light where he came from. The shadowy figures huddled around it, in the edges of the darkness. Their teeth were just starting to come forth.

“You may try and take over the entire galaxy, if you wish. But one thing is for sure: I will stop you.”

The creatures charged forward, but the Doctor was already halfway up the ladder.

\-------------------

“Oh my god, are you alright?”

Amy ran forward and hugged the Doctor as soon as he emerged from underground. The Doctor looked around and saw that they were still inside the judgment building, but in a different room.

“How is J’hândra?” the Doctor asked, stumbling slightly. The pain was gone, but he was dizzy from the aftermath.

“I’m here!” the girl cried out from the corner of the room. “Ahâd’s here too, but he…”

The Doctor tried to walk over to the girl but tripped over his own feet. He blinked hard, trying to clear away some of the lasting effects. Whatever those creatures had done to him, it was still taking its toll.

“Here.” Amy said quietly and held out her arm. The Doctor smiled his thanks and took it, walking slowly towards J’hândra. She was sitting on the ground, kneeling in front of her brother, who was simply looking at her with a blank expression. He grasped her hand tightly as she spoke.

“Ahâd? Ahâd, please, answer me!”

Ahâd stayed silent. The Doctor reached forward and gently took J’hândra’s shoulder.

“J’hândra.” he said quietly. “Back away now.”

“He’s not well, I need to stay with him! Ahâd answer me!”

“I promise I will do everything in my power to help, but you need to step away now.”

Amy stepped forward and took J’hândra’s arms. The girl struggled against her, growing increasingly more desperate.

“What’s wrong with him? We came all this way – what’s wrong with him?! He’s hurt, and you’re taking me away from him!”

The Doctor closed his eyes, trying to block out her cries. Ahâd wasn’t hurt. The Doctor wasn’t even sure if he was alive.

J’hândra began to cry and Amy consoled her. Over the girl’s head, Amy looked at the Doctor with wide eyes that clearly said _Do something!_

The Doctor sighed and kneeled down in front of Ahâd. He was still staring at J’hândra. His skin was cold.

“Ahâd, I’m the Doctor.” The boy didn’t respond. “I’m here to help you.”

He scanned Ahâd with the sonic and looked at the results. _Living death._ But how did he even get like this?

The Doctor knew. It was what he himself had been heading for if the creatures hadn’t let Amy go. They fed off of fear, no regard to what that would do to the victim. And they settled underneath a city where the justice system relied on one thing to keep its criminals in check. Ahâd had been part of it. A victim, just like the rest.

He was suddenly very angry, at the whole scenario, but mostly at the creatures’ twisted sense of humor. _Right them so they can walk_ he had said. Well here was Ahâd. Walking.

Amy had crept up behind him, leaving J’hândra in the corner.

“Can you help him?” Amy said under her breath. Her smile showed confidence but her eyes betrayed her doubt.

“I don’t know.” the Doctor said truthfully. He had survived underground because he had hope. J’hândra was alive and well, and Ahâd hadn’t even blinked.

“In any case, I think it would be best if we all got out of here.” he said to Amy, nodding towards the thin outline of a door in the wall.

“Got it.”

With Amy’s help, the Doctor managed to get the catatonic Ahâd and the distraught J’hândra outside. As the door sealed behind them, the Doctor looked around the quiet alley that they had appeared on.

“I think the TARDIS is this - ” he began, but was interrupted by a scream from J’hândra.

“Found you!”

The man from the marketplace had snuck up on them, and now had J’hândra pinned in his arms.

“Let her go!” the Doctor shouted, but Sar’jâd simply smiled.

“You know the rules now! No rent, no freedom. And now I can pin you down for resisting arrest too!”

Sar’jâd looked around and saw Ahâd. “And look here!” He grabbed the boy, who didn’t react. “Two for the judgment house.”

“You can’t bring them back there, that place is a slaughterhouse!” the Doctor yelled. Sar’jâd paused for a moment and looked at him. The Doctor took the opportunity to keep talking.

“Don’t you ever wonder what happens to all those people you condemn? Ranging from thieves to late payers, they all have one thing in common, don’t they? They never are seen again.”

“They’re sent to the other cities!” Sar’jâd said, but he didn’t seem to believe it.

“No, that’s what they want you to believe. They’ve been feeding off of you for a long time now. And if you take these kids back there, you’ll be murdering them.”

Sar’jâd’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re lying.” he said darkly.

“No, I’m - ”

“You’re just as bad as all the rest, all those conspiracy theorists with their technology. You’re not fooling me.”

He tugged at J’hândra, who was still struggling, dragging her away. As Sar’jâd moved away, Ahâd stood his ground, staring at his sister.

“Ahâd, please…” she whispered.

Amy started forward, but the Doctor held out a hand.

“Doctor!” Amy hissed, but he shook his head.

“Wait.”

Ahâd was standing rigidly still. Sar’jâd rolled his eyes.

“Well if Crazy here isn’t coming, I’ll at least get his sister.” He began to move down the street, J’hândra kicking along the way.

“Doctor, for goodness sakes!” Amy complained, but this time the Doctor didn’t need to reply. Something in Ahâd had snapped, and now suddenly he was moving forward with a vengeance. He tackled Sar’jâd easily and pulled J’hândra from his grasp. He kicked Sar’jâd in the stomach for good measure and ran down the alley, past the Doctor and Amy. He looked back at their shocked faces.

“Well, come on! Run!”

Amy and the Doctor smiled at each other and took off down the road.

\------------------------

“You’re fine?” the Doctor asked Ahâd as they got back to J’hándra’s hideout.

“Of course he’s fine, he just beat up our landlord!” J’hándra yelled over. She was unwillingly being checked over by Amy.

“Doctor, she’s fine.” Amy called over, but J’hándra had already scrambled out of Amy’s arms and run over to her brother, tackling him into a big hug. Ahád laughed and tousled her dark hair. The Doctor leaned against a vacant wall and narrowed his eyes, still looking suspiciously at Ahád.

“I know that face.” Amy said, sliding next to him and watching the siblings laugh.

“Face, what face?” the Doctor said, putting on a fake smile in hopes of hiding his furrowed brow.

“The “there’s-something-wrong” face. Your eyes get all crinkly.” Amy leaned her head against the Doctor’s shoulder, relaxing. “So, what is it, what’s wrong?”

The Doctor shook his head, pushing himself off the wall. “We need to get back into that city.” he said firmly, changing the subject. Amy rolled her eyes and walked over too.

“What for?” J’hándra asked. “The guard’s going to be ten-fold - let’s just leave.”

“Leave where?” the Doctor asked, sounding angry.

“That tunnel branches off into the other two cities on this planet.” Ahád said. “We could take some supplies and get out, start a new life.”

“Yes, and then what?” the Doctor asked, leaning over the boy. “Leave Rajahad to the mercy of the aliens living underneath it, let hundreds of other wrongdoers suffer the same fate as you?”

“It’s not our problem anymore!” Ahád yelled, while J’hándra clutched at his sleeve tightly. “She got me back, that’s all she wanted!”

“Ahád - ” J’hándra began, but the Doctor had already turned to him, his expression livid. When he spoke, however, his voice was scarily calm.

“Fine. Go then. But they will follow you, and they will you use every person you abandoned against you. I’m sure a couple more months living in luxury will soften the blow.”

“Doctor.” Amy said, finally stepping forward. He relaxed slightly as she wrapped her hands around his arm. “Let’s go.”

He gave her a sliver of a nod, then turned away from the siblings.

“Your choice.” he said over his shoulder as he and Amy ducked into the tunnel leading back to the city.

\---------------

“You shouldn’t be so hard on them. They’re just kids, they don’t know what they’re doing.” Amy told him as they walked. The Doctor had narrowed his eyes again.

“I know, I know.” he said absentmindedly. “’Not our problem….’”

“Will you at least tell me what’s wrong?” Amy pressed.

“With what?”

“You know with what, so why don’t you just - ”

The Doctor stopped dead in the tunnel and turned back to face Amy.

“Ahád is supposed to be dead.” he said, his eyes looking desperately into hers.

“Yeah, but you saved him and now he’s better. That’s how the _saving_ thing works.”

“No, I mean, he is not supposed to be awake….aware of everything. The way we found him, that was how they wanted him.”

“What, the aliens? But you got the best of them, Doctor. You _beat_ them.”

“No, I didn’t.” The Doctor began pacing around the tunnel, his footsteps echoing down the hall. “I cheated.”

“So when they gave you your prize….”

“They cheated too.” the Doctor breathed, looking at Amy in horror.

And suddenly a scream echoed down the tunnel.

“J’hándra!” they both called, and sprinted towards the hideout.

The Doctor got there first, clambering out of the tunnel. In front of him a hole opened up into the ground, darkness echoing through it. The siblings were nowhere to be seen.

“J’hándra.” the Doctor breathed, kneeling down and sonic-ing the pit. He heard Amy’s footsteps as he looked at the results.

“Where are they?!” Amy asked, desperate. The Doctor rocked back and stood up, rubbing his face.

“They’ve sealed it off. No way in that way.” He sunk back onto a bed behind him. “I am…so…stupid.” he said slowly, closing his eyes.

“So we just follow them through the city, yeah?” Amy said, worry on her tongue.

“They’ll be waiting.” he said sadly. “How could I not see it? They took Ahád and used him – that’s why he was up and about, they were controlling him. And then as soon as we were out of the way he took J’hándra down with him…”

“Doctor.” Amy said, and now her fear was clear. “Please tell me you can still save them.”

The Doctor looked at the pit, wanting to shake his head, wanting to say no. But something in the back of his mind refused him to give up, even if all hope seemed lost. He stood up suddenly, hopping gracefully over the pit and grabbing Amy’s hand.

“Yes.” he said, even though he knew he might be lying, even though he knew that the slightest hope he had had just been buried in the dark. “Yes I can.”

\-------------------------

The Doctor knew marching back into the city would be almost the equivalent of suicide, but he had no other choice. He silently wished that their makeshift disguises and his psychic paper would be enough if they ran into trouble, but he knew that Amy and him were no match for the professional guards of Rajahad.

He was angry. Angry at Rajahad for overlooking everyone who went missing, angry at the people who brushed off their suspicions as part of a fake cult, and most of all, angry at himself for letting J’hándra out of his sights.

Amy walked hesitantly behind him, uncharacteristically silent. He wished she would say something, to crack a smile and say a snarky comment, but she said nothing, simply following him with her hands partially outstretched, as if he would explode at any second.

It took them about ten minutes to get back to the entrance of the city. The Doctor looked up at the trapdoor and turned around, facing Amy.

“You don’t have to do this, you know. We sneak right back to the TARDIS, and I can leave you there, safe and - ”

Now, of all times, she had to smile.

“No way.” she said, and reached for the trapdoor herself. “Together.”

Briefly, for one moment, he remembered her saying those words to Rory, so long ago. He blinked hard, shaking his head hard as Amy began to climb the ladder. Now was _not_ the time to think about that.

\----------------------

Outside, it was night. The alley was dark, but they could still both hear the bustle of the city in the distance.

“Doctor, this seems like a stupid time to ask, but….do you have a plan?”

“Shut down the judgment house, make everyone aware of what’s going on, stop a potential alien invasion.”

“Okay, that’s a plan.” Amy said disbelievingly. “Do you have a plan to carry out said plan?”

The Doctor shushed her and pulled her up against the wall. At the entrance to the alley, two soldiers walked past, bright beams of light emitting from electric lights attached to their chests.

“But…” Amy whispered as they passed on. “But I thought they weren’t supposed to have modern technology.”

The Doctor turned his head towards Amy and smiled.

“We need to start a riot.” he said, pushing himself off the wall and running down the alley.

“ _What?!_ ” Amy hissed, running after him. They weaved through the streets until the Doctor finally stopped next to the TARDIS, which was still parked in the near-empty market square. A few people cast them some suspicious glances as they passed. Amy grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her. “Aren’t we supposed to be keeping a _low_ profile?”

“Amy, think about it.” The Doctor was still smiling. “We need to shut down the government _and_ make everyone aware that it is lying to them. What better way to do so than by starting a fight that they’ll have to break up using modern technology?”

Amy shook her head. “It can’t be that simple. We’ll need an audience.”

The Doctor smile widened. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Next to them, the TARDIS doors flung open, bathing the empty square in light. A few people screamed, shrinking away from the artificial light. A soldier, posted at the main entrance to the square, gasped and turned. He took one look at the TARDIS and ran away, yelling over his shoulder.

The Doctor turned suddenly to Amy.

“Last chance, Amelia. Get inside.”

Amy looked around at the edges of the square, where soldiers were quickly blocking the exits. A few people who had been walking by were now trying to get out, blocked by the soldiers. The open space now seemed very small and menacing, and Amy could imagine how this entire plan could go wrong. How they could be cast back into shadow and….

She looked into the TARDIS, thinking about running away for a split second. But something made her stay. And then something else made her run inside.

\----------------------

The Doctor bit his lip as Amy ducked inside, leaving him alone. The soldiers had them surrounded, pushing in. He noticed people outside the square looking in now, everyone who was awake after dark wondering what all the commotion was.

Then suddenly Amy was right by his side again, only this time she carried with her a box of items that looked like they had been plucked from the TARDIS console. He realized a second later that it was the collection of spare parts he kept underneath the console, whenever she needed a tune up, or if she pestered him beyond belief to finally fix the fact that they always land five minutes after the date that is set. A few wistful, beautiful memories passed over the Doctor upon looking at that box. And the next thing he knew Amy had run off with it into the middle of the square.

“We give up our weapons!” Amy yelled, and suddenly dumped the entirety of the box’s contents onto the ground.

While the Doctor stared in shock, Amy sprinted back to the TARDIS doors.

“Why did you - ”

“Shh. Just watch.”

Soldiers were breaking away from the edge and running towards the overturned parts on the ground. The people standing nearby stopped and stared, staring at the objects on the ground like they were about to explode. But the soldiers merely picked them up, looked at them closely, and then looked up at the Doctor and Amy, some of them shielding their eyes from the light of the TARDIS.

“Give up your real weapons and stand down!” one soldier shouted.

“Stop trying to fool us!” another said, tossing a thermal coupling behind him. The people standing near him shrank away from the harmless rod, but looked back up at the soldiers, realizing what they had said. Amy looked over at the Doctor and they both smiled widely.

“Excuse me, my good sir!” the Doctor called over. “Would you mind explaining what that was you just threw over your shoulder?”

“It’s just a harmless thermal cou - ” a young soldier began, but was cut off by another desperately trying to silence him. Behind them, the people looked livid.

“Amy, we need to get to the judgment house.” the Doctor breathed. Amy nodded, and together they ducked into the TARDIS.

\--------------------

One sweep around the console landed them just a few blocks away from the square. In the distance, the Doctor could see lights dancing around the edges of the square, a sure sign that the soldiers were getting desperate.

“Okay, so if that’s the distraction….” Amy said, pointing back towards the square.

“That wasn’t a distraction, Amy. I’m pretty sure we just started a revolution.”

Amy took a deep breath.

“Only when children are crying, right Doctor?” she said after a while. There were tears in her eyes.

“If it makes you feel better, this world was wrong right from the start. The soldiers, the people. Their ignorance. History has gone wrong, and we need to fix it.”

He left Amy standing there and turned towards the judgment house. The streets around it were eerily quiet. He pulled out his sonic and took a deep breath.

“Doctor, there’s something else.” Amy said before he could do more. He stopped and turned towards her. She was still facing away, slowly shaking her head.

“Yes?”

“Something about the history being wrong. It’s like….it’s like there’s something here that I can’t quite remember.”

The Doctor knew exactly what she was barely remembering. He walked up to her and held her hand.

“Hold tight to that feeling, Amy.” he said quietly, squeezing her fingers. “We need to have everything about ourselves close to us right now.”

Amy looked back at the judgment house. “I don’t want to go back into the dark.” she whispered.

“With luck,” the Doctor said, skipping to the door and sonicing it open, “we won’t have to.”

The Doctor took a tiny light out of his pocket and shone it into the dark room. Where the old man should have been was another perception filter attached to the ceiling. And below them, where they had fallen through the floor earlier, was a large round hatch that looked like it slid open. It was attached to what looked like just the beginning of a complex ship – like a large spaceship had buried itself underneath the floor.

“History hasn’t changed on its own, _they_ changed it.” the Doctor said, kneeling down to get a better look at the hatch. “Their ship must be at the core of this planet, how else could they hide so easily?”

“Wait, you’re saying this planet was built around a _spaceship_.” Amy asked, incredulous.

“According to history, this planet formed like any other planet in the universe, minus a couple exceptions. But these aliens must be able to travel in time, manipulate the timelines to accommodate the minor paradoxes. I’ve seen this before, on Earth, but that ship lay dormant in the Earth’s core for billions of years….”

“Wait, you’re saying there’s a ship living at the center of Earth?!” Amy cried.

“Don’t be silly.” the Doctor said, now focused on sonicing the edges of the hatch without setting it off. “I flooded it ages ago.”

He dismissed Amy’s look of shock as he moved on to the next edge. “They can’t have made their ship the core of the planet for its entire history, that would be too big a paradox. They must have had a way to go back and forth quickly enough that - ”

The Doctor suddenly stopped talking. He had frozen in place, sonic still outstretched.

“Doctor?”

“I am so stupid.”

“Doctor, what’s wrong?”

“They’re not at the core of the planet. Don’t you see Amy? The perception filters. Their ship is full of them, they were everywhere.”

“So?”

“So, they’re not in the planet.” He looked up, and Amy followed his gaze. On the ceiling was a small perception filter. “They’re above it.”

Time suddenly seemed to slow down. As they stared up at the filter, Amy suddenly felt like she was falling again. She closed her eyes, terrified to be going back down, but then she felt something force her aside, and suddenly she was outside the judgment house. She turned around and looked back inside the doorway. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen.

\------------------

The cushioned air pocket wasn’t there to stop a fall, it was there to disorient anyone who was teleported aboard their ship. For that’s what all the perception filters on the ship were for. Not just to keep the light right where they wanted it to be, but to ensure that whoever came aboard felt like they were still on their planet. When they had climbed the ladder, it was just another teleport with a perception filter on it to give them the feeling of climbing back to the surface. The whole thing was a scam. A scam to make people afraid, and a scam to get him to come and save the day.

And now he had fallen for it again.

As soon as he had control of his limbs again he stumbled away from the air pocket, sprinting along the ship and blindly sonicing every filter he came across. He knew they were coming for him, probably with a stronger poison, but it didn’t matter. They didn’t have Amy. She was safe. That’s what mattered.

He needed to get to the big red button – the control panel, the steering wheel, the place where he could finally shut down the slaughterhouse that was this ship.

\-------------------

Amy ran into the TARDIS, desperate for a solution. Outside, Rajahad was being turned over by its own people furious with its protectors. And above, somewhere in the sky, the Doctor was struggling, possibly dying, for this tiny little backwater planet.

“Come on, come on!” she shouted at the console. “He’s up there, take me to him!”

She could swear that the TARDIS responded, stubbornly emanating its beautiful sounds, telling her _no._

“Alright, fine. You can’t take me to him, obviously, but there’s gotta be a way you can help him. What about scans – a signal maybe? He’s not just up there to flirt with them, help him find the off switch!”

The TARDIS hummed in response, and suddenly one of the screens on the console lit up. A scan of the ship, slowly working its way over the plans, until…

“There!” Amy pointed. “Control room – second floor, left side. But how do we tell him?!”

The TARDIS merely hummed quietly, but a light turned on near the jumpseat. Amy stared down at her coat, long forgotten in the chaos of the day. In her top pocket was her phone.

“But it just calls the TARDIS.” she murmured as she picked it up and selected the Doctor’s number. “Unless…does he have a cell phone?”

The TARDIS stayed silent as she dialed.

\-------------------

He didn’t know where he was going anymore. Every filter he soniced just revealed more, and he had already felt the creatures hands grab at his arm. He had yanked it out of their reach, but a second time could prove to be one too many.

And then suddenly a phone rang.

It was the most normal sound in the world that it almost made him stop running from the shock of it. It took him another second to realize that it was _his_ phone. He pulled it out deftly and answered it, barely missing a beat in the constant sonic-run-sonic game he was playing.

“Hello?!” he yelled, slightly angry at whoever was interrupting his near-death experience.

“Doctor!” Amy cried from the other line. “Doctor, we found the control room! Second floor, left side!”

Not questioning how she contacted him, not questioning how she got the information, not questioning who “we” was, he merely veered left, looking for some stairs.

Everything was pitch black, now that he was sonicing the floor as well, and suddenly he was tumbling forward, crashing down an invisible set of stairs, each crash of flesh on metal simply a sign that he was still alive, that he wasn’t unconscious, that he was still going, until he found himself sprawled at the bottom, shaken up but still very much alive. He tried to catch his breath but he felt invisible hands grasp his sleeve, saw a sliver of teeth in his vision. He leapt up and continued running, knowing that he was on the right track.

And suddenly the filters stopped, and he was seeing something properly on the ship for the first time. One corner of a room was stark white compared to the darkness that surrounded it. The control room was here, a small silver booth near a window. He bolted in and soniced the door behind him, sinking onto the floor. Through the small window in the door, one of the creatures that was following him skidded to a halt. Before it could slink back into the shadows, the Doctor got one good look at what he was fighting.

The teeth that he had been seeing were nothing more than simple canines, but the mouth they sprouted from was grotesque and large, with puckered lips that look like they were permanently sucking something up. Its eyes were beady and sunk back, its body tall and skinny with what could only be described as a mixture of feathers and scales covering almost all of it. Its hands and feet were curled and blackened, with tips that were sharpened to a needle-like thinness. Its body was black but its scale-feathers were an ugly tarnished blue, nothing like his beautiful TARDIS. It was a creature out of a demented nightmare, but now that the Doctor saw it up close and in the light, it wasn’t scary in the least, merely disgusting. More just a pathetic creature that resorted to lies and cheap parlor tricks to get its next meal.

Almost as soon as he had seen it, the creature hid its face in the darkness behind it. The Doctor shook off his disgust and looked down at the controls. There were the basics – steering, weaponry. He wanted neither. Engineering – that was more like it.

He set to work.

\-------------------

Amy was pacing in the TARDIS. The Doctor had hung up on her with no response, no confirmation, _nothing._ A revolution was waging outside and she was stuck here, waiting. Again.

 _Hold onto that feeling, Amy._ he had said. What feeling? She had already forgotten, and the stress of worrying about her best friend made it worse. She felt like she needed to know something horribly important, but she just couldn’t think what.

Then her phone rang.

“Hello?!” She practically screamed at him.

“Amy.”

One word and she knew something was wrong.

“Doctor, whatever it is - ”

“I want you to know what they look like, Amy. So you never have to feel afraid of them again.”

“But, you’re going to take care of them, right? I won’t _have_ to see them anymore.”

“No, Amy…” There was a pause. “Yes, they’re going to be gone. But I want you to know, and everybody else in Rajahad. And J’hándra. And Ahád.”

“You found them?!” she asked joyously, momentary fear forgotten. “Are they alright?”

“I have a way of bringing them all home. Not just them. Everybody who was taken, at least those who made it this far, which is luckily almost all of them. Rajahad has some strong people in it.”

“I can see that from outside, Doctor. They’re getting pretty vicious with their revolution.”

“Yes, that would be these creatures as well. They have most of the soldiers on their side – give them false memories and higher tech in exchange for their lives. Most of the people didn’t get that choice. They just hear about the myths of technology, thinking people who use it are part of a cult - ”

“Doctor? You’re babbling.”

“Yes I am. Sorry. My point is that Rajahad can handle itself. The revolution will settle and everything will go back to normal.”

“Doctor.”

“Anyway, Amy, the creatures aren’t really that scary, just - ”

“Doctor!”

There was silence from the other end.

“Whatever you’re doing, Doctor, you can - ”

“Their spaceship is very advanced for what I’ve seen of their race, which makes me think that they stole it. But I can use that against them. All the people they take, they feed on them and then dispose of what’s leftover in the hold. The good thing is that the ship automatically detects failing life and stabilizes it. Everybody is safe, more or less.”

“Doctor - ”

“Of course, while they’re all being teleported back safely, someone else has to distract the creatures so they don’t realize what’s happening and interfere.”

“Doctor, please - ”

“And once everyone leaves safely, somebody’s going to have to take care of this ship. Make sure they don’t start the whole thing over again. Normal life for everyone, once again.”

“Doctor, whatever you’re planning on doing, you can do it without - ”

“Remember that feeling, Amy.” Amy could hear the smile in his voice. “The TARDIS will take care of you, don’t worry. But remember that feeling. If you can remember it, it can come back.”

There was a soft _click_ , and the line went dead.

\-------------------

When the Doctor hung up, he was almost mad at himself for not having a plan. Well, he had a plan. But it didn’t involve him escaping out of this alive. Or without a bit of pain.

He had himself poised to activate the ship’s hold, reawakening all of its victims and teleporting them back to Rajahad. That part was easy. It was the distracting of the aliens that would be hard. As soon as he flipped the switch, they would be alerted, swarming around the controls and trying to stop it. It was up to him to distract them. That was going to be the painful part.

And as soon as everyone was back safe on the planet below, he would have to prevent them from trying again. That involved destroying the ship. That was the part that would get him killed.

He stared down at the switch for a moment more, still reeling from his conversation with Amy. His last companion. He wished briefly, prayed even, that she would remember her beautiful Rory, so that she wouldn’t be completely alone.

Then he flipped the switch.

Immediately, the grotesque figures he had seen before moved partially into the light, enticed by the small sirens that were going off in the control booth. The Doctor unraveled the thin cord that was attached to the small remote in his hand. As soon as the last person was transported back onto Rajahad, the remote would light up. He went over the list of his last actions in his head. Distract them first. Press the button second. He walked over to the door and took a deep breath. There was no other choice here.

He tucked the remote underneath his sleeve, within easy reach. Then he opened the door.

Immediately he felt something pierce his arm. Three more needles followed, stabbing and retracting like gunshots. He fell almost at once, pain snaking up his arm. Of course their poison would be slower. He shouldn't have put it past them.   He cried out as the effect seemed to explode in his shoulder. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth. Here were creatures that fed off of fear. And the Doctor was well and truly afraid.

He saw them leaning over him and heard their laughter. One of his hearts shut down, and he was glad Amy wasn't here to see him cry. He recalled everything he hadn't been able to defeat - the spiders of Metebelis III, the Midnight creature, the horrible radiation that had poured through his tenth body. He hadn't defeated them, but he had faced them. And as scared as he was, an entire planet was slowly gaining back his freedom.

A small beep sounded, ignored by the laughing creatures, and the Doctor slowly slid the remote from his sleeve. A beautiful green light. Everyone was safe. Everyone except him, but that didn't matter. He felt the monsters retreating, saw their sudden concern, and he knew it was now or never. As the pain slipped away from his body, as his mind slipped into peace, he thought, strangely, of Susan.

He quietly pressed the button.

\-------------

Amy didn't know what had happened after the phone call. There had been a significant amount of yelling at a very quiet TARDIS, and then some various shouts from outside as slowly but surely people were transported back onto the planet. Amy had glanced around, trying to look for J'handra, but it was too dark, and she had more yelling to do.

20 minutes later she found herself shouted hoarse, crossing her arms stubbornly near the console and trying not to cry.

"Why can't you do anything?" she asked for the thousandth time. She knew the stupid answer the machine silently gave. If the TARDIS tried to save the Doctor, it would bring both Amy and herself into danger. The Doctor would never let that happen.

A minute passed by in absolute silence. Then, out of nowhere, the lights of the console turned on. A furious humming started, and the central column starting moving up and down.

"What are you doing?!" Amy shouted, hanging on for dear life as the whole room began to shake. "I thought you said you couldn't do this!"

Truthfully the TARDIS had said no such thing, and obviously it wasn't listening to its previous orders. Amy distinctly felt herself being propelled upward, and she allowed herself a small glitter of hope that somehow he would be okay.

\-------------

The Doctor hadn't even closed his eyes before he heard the sound of a miracle. The beautiful whoosh of engines groaned around him, and he felt the console floor materialize beneath him. In the distance, he saw the ship become engulfed in flames, the creatures squealing to get away from them, but before the fire could touch the Doctor he was safe and sound, sprawled gasping on the TARDIS floor.

Amy ran over to him and punched him hard in the arm. He barely had the energy to scowl at her before she had pulled him into such a tight hug that he had trouble breathing.

"Amy..." he gasped, and she pulled away, laughing through her tears.

"You shouldn't be here, the TARDIS said - "

"Failsafe." he coughed, looking down at the dead remote he had clutched in his sudden rescue. "Must have picked up on it....soon as I press the button the danger has passed..."

He looked around at the beautiful room. Amy could swear he had tears in his eyes.

"Always there for me, eh old girl?"

The console hummed sweetly in response.

\--------------

They found J'handra and Ahad alive and well in the middle of the square the next morning, about as confused as everyone else there. The revolution from the night before had left overturned carts and broken electrics littered across the market.

"Here." the Doctor said, handing the siblings a silver key. "New apartment. The rent's paid off, I made sure of it. Go live a good life."

Ahad shook his hand, and J'handra hugged him.

"And don't get into anymore trouble!" the Doctor called after them. J'handra flashed a smile over her shoulder, then both of them disappeared into the crowd.

"What's going to happen to them, Doctor?" Amy asked, gazing after the pair. "To any of the people here?"

"They're strong." he said firmly, smiling. "I've fixed everything that went wrong - now they just need to pick up the pieces, put everything back together again. This planet started out on a tiny rock in the middle of nowhere, Amy. Life can thrive."

He nodded to a guard, clearly disheveled from last night. He was sitting and tending to his twisted ankle. A member of the crowd walked over and offered his shoulder for the guard to lean on. They hobbled off together.

"Hold onto hope, Amelia." the Doctor said, looking at her strangely. "Sometimes it's all any of us have."

Amy found herself thinking of the Doctor's words, but the feeling was gone. She felt almost sad that she couldn't remember it.

"Well, anyway!" the Doctor shouted, jolting Amy out of her thoughts. "We have a universe to see!"

He took her hand and led her running back into the TARDIS.

"Did I ever tell you about the Banshee Caves of Lianth? Or the Seven Falls of Threath? Ooh, or how about, Apalapacia?"

Amy shook her head and laughed.

"What was that last one?"

"Actually, best not go there - it's currently in its mating season. Never meet a romantic Apalapachian, Amy."

She laughed as he shuddered and fiddled with the controls, but something he had said made her stop. She found herself feeling sad, even though the Doctor was dancing about the TARDIS, even though J'handra had found her brother, even though Amy herself was no longer afraid.

She shook her head. It was probably nothing.

Probably.


End file.
